German REITs

Diploma Thesis from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1,3, Otto Beisheim School of Management Vallendar (WHU - Dresdner Bank Chair of Finance), language: English, abstract: A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a property stock that is taxed, not at the corporate but at the investor level, which can lead to tax advantages. The concept of REITs originated in the United States in 1960, allowing smaller investors access to large income-producing real estate, which facilitated the creation of a liquid asset class that has become a core part of institutional portfolio management. REITs have proven attractive to investors because: x Their returns have beaten most major equity benchmarks over three decades, with lower volatility x They have predictable cash flows and high dividend yields x They have a low correlation with other asset classes, aiding portfolio diversification As US-REITs proved successful, other countries have introduced similar property investment vehicles. The Netherlands started in 1969, followed by Australia (1985), Canada (1994), Belgium (1995), Japan (2000) Singapore (2002), Hong Kong (2003) and most recently France (2003). In Germany real estate has been the most popular investment theme of the past three years, despite its significant underperformance compared to European peers during the past 10 years, with open-end funds receiving almost all money inflows. The listed sector, however, is insignificant, both in terms of size and liquidity, and is in desperate need of a catalyst. The introduction of a G-REIT structure could potentially be the long-awaited saviour that could transfer the importance of German real estate into the listed sector. Given the significance of real estate in their respective markets, the German and UK governments are currently considering the introduction of REITs. Depending on the progress of the consultative and parliamentary process, REITs are expected to be enacted by legislation during 2006 in both countries. The REIT discussion in Germany has reached a serious stage, with all the mostinvolved parties seemingly agreed about the usefulness of a REIT structure. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the case for REITs in Germany, to analyse the progress of REITs in countries that have installed these structures, to consider the on-going debate in Germany and what these developments may eventually mean for the German real estate market.